Cleaning and Housekeeping Tips

Q: I was zesting a lemon with a box grater and noticed that on one side of the grater there was some leftover cheese from who knows when (gross, I know). I guess I didn’t wash it properly or was too lazy to pick at it. I can’t just scrub with a sponge for obvious reasons.Do you have any easy/efficient ways to thoroughly clean all the holes in a grater?Sent by DebbieEditor: We’ve had that exact same experience, Debbie, we confess! Here are a couple things that seem to help.

We were tired of our kitchen towels constantly slipping off the oven handle and winding up on the floor, so we devised this handy solution. It works quite well and we think it looks pretty cute, too!All this takes is a few lengths of leftover ribbon or yarn and some bull clips. Tie the ribbons in a square knot around the handle (“right over left, leftover right, makes the knot tidy and tight!”) so the ends lie flat and the knot stays tight even after repeated use.

Q: Any good tips for getting a major honey spill off of my wood pantry shelf? I was thinking about scraping it, or steaming it, but I don’t even know where to start without making a bigger mess.Sent by AlexisEditor: Alexis, when we spill something majorly sticky like this, our approach is usually to just use lots and lots of very hot water. You could try soaking a kitchen cloth in boiling water and laying it over the honey to soften it.

Q: My very favorite Le Creuset pan has gotten all scratched and stained.You can see a dark ring where the warming burner has burnt on a stain. Is this all patina, or can I remove it somehow? I have stopped using it because it looks so messy, but I miss it and how well it cooks.Can you tell me if it’s possible to get these stains off my Le Creuset?Sent by StephenEditor: Stephen, we have scrubbed bad stains off our own Dutch ovens with Bon Ami or Barkeeper’s Friend and scrubbing pads.

Q: My boyfriend’s apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher, and with all of his roomates living there, and everyone cooking each night, dishes are a real problem. There is limited counter space as well, so we are trying to find a multi-level dish rack — hopefully something with at least two full levels if not more.Short of building shelves for multiple standard dish racks I haven’t seen anything.

Not only will a spill pan under your baking dish catch those stray drips and dribbles, but it will also make it easier to move awkward pans in and out of the oven. Not all of our baking dishes have handles, and trying to grab them with thick oven mitts can sometimes be troublesome. It’s much easier to pick up and balance a whole tray instead!We usually use a free cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment for our spill tray. The foil or parchment makes clean-up much easier!

Who doesn’t hate walking in their kitchen and seeing a long trail of ants coming down the wall and amassing in a large group on the trash can? These persistent little critters can be difficult to deal with, but the situation is not hopeless. You can get them out of your kitchen without using toxic chemicals! I had tons of ant problems in our 1890’s Edwardian when we first moved in.

Mice in the kitchen! Have you ever had this problem? This is not a pleasant topic, and we’ll be the first to admit that. But it’s one that many of us have to deal with at one time or another, and we are curious: if you’ve had mice in the kitchen, how did you get rid of them? I live in a 100-year-old house that is full of creaky boards, massive heating ducts, loose wiring conduits, and great hiding spots for mice.

A few days ago, Emma asked for your suggestions on the best mop for the kitchen. You all gave a lot of good opinions, but I have one more. See, the mop I use most frequently is attached to my arm. I get down on my hands and knees with a sponge to clean my kitchen floor, and I have several reasons why. First is my own persnickety nature. I like to get eye to eye with the dirt. I want to see the nooks and crannies up close and make sure they’re getting clean.

Please, just one! We’ve tried all sorts of mops, from those sponge-type ones to smaller home-versions of the industrial cotton string mop. They’re unwieldy, messy, and half the time we just feel like we’re pushing dirt around. We’re in the market for a new one and we’d like a good one this time!

Several months ago we posted a survey about how you clean your ovens. Many of you are self-cleaning oven fans, it turns out. We gave ours a whirl recently, after we got tired of the sticky roasted chicken grease splattered everywhere.Well, it did not go as planned. Not at all. A neighbor complained, the super showed up… Read on. Maybe our pain can be your gain.This is what our oven looked like before. Most of that gunk is chicken grease.

Why is there a bay leaf in our flour canister?Years ago, in the midst of a moth infestation, we read that bay leaves repel pantry insects. Everyone from beetles to weevils, moths, cockroaches, ants, and flies is said to hate the herb’s fragrance. The leaves can be placed in containers of flour, rice, and other dry goods, or taped inside cupboards and shelves. Of course, this should not preclude other bug deterring efforts like regular cleaning and storing foods in airtight containers.

We know that, to some of you, the thought of waking up to a kitchen full of sticky, crusty dishes is worse than any hangover. And usually we agree. We like to clean up as we cook, as much as possible, and have all the dishes finished before we go to bed. But.

We recently noticed rue at our farmers’ market herb stand. Our only familiarity with the plant was from Shakespeare (Ophelia used it in her garland), so we asked our vendor for recommendations. She told us that rue has traditionally been used in folk remedies, but that most people find it too bitter to eat. She also had another intriguing suggestion…Put it in the kitchen, she said – it will keep flies at bay!

As we make our way through all of the tomatoes and peaches in our kitchen, we’re noticing fruit flies hovering around the garbage can full of pits and skins. The bad news: These suckers can create hundreds of offspring within a week or two. The good news: AT: Re-Nest posted an incredibly simple way to get rid of them. See a close-up picture of a fruit fly and get the instructions for its demise, below… Those red eyes are a trademark of the fruit fly — yuck.

This is one of those things we do because our mom did, and we have no idea if it’s actually doing anything. Our guess is no, but we still do it — and we found funny little product devoted to the practice. See it below…This is from The Container Store, and it is supposed to let air reach your open baking soda while keeping the baking soda “fresh.

Has this ever happen to you? We’d just finished enjoying a home-cooked meal and went back to the kitchen for cleanup to find this. Scorched food burnt to the bottom of the pan. Sigh. Whoops. We were searing something and took it a little too far, or we were making soup and didn’t realize the bottom burned until it was too late. It happens. And when it does, here are a few things we try. 1. Deglaze the pan.

I have a full set of the Dansk (DANSK IHC KOBENWARE on bottoms) Kobenstyle cookware in navy blue and white that has served me well, but the bottoms of all of the pots and pans have rusted and leave rust rings in my sink if I don’t clean them immediately. How do I safely remove the rust and somehow seal the bottoms so that they do not continue to rust in the future?(To All Good Questions) We love Dansk Kobenstyle pots and pans; you can’t beat that classic look and punchy color.